Set Stories
by ahiru2524
Summary: What happens on the set of Hey Arnold when the cameras aren't rolling? A lot of craziness, that's what! Maybe kind of an AU, I don't know, you decide.
1. Chapter 1

**Yes, it's yet another of my Hey Arnold fanfictions! I decided to take a different approach to the whole Arnold/Helga thing, so here it is! What happens behind the scenes of our beloved show? Here's what goes on when the cameras stop rolling!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold, Craig Bartlett does. Also, I'm no longer going to put a disclaimer in every chapter, just the first one.**

Chapter 1

Helga Pataki walked through the door of the studio and took a moment to just enjoy the craziness of being on set. Even though she had already been part of the cast for a while now she still loved every minute of being at the studio, whether they were filming or not.

She walked over to the snack bar and grabbed a water bottle while she waited for set up to be done. She saw her castmates hanging around the edges of the room, trying to stay out of the way of moving equipment. It reminded her of her first day on set; she had been nervous about acting for the first time, but she was still really excited to be part of the show. She had quickly made friends with some of the girls, most of all Phoebe.

When they had to go to makeup Helga had no idea where the trailer was, and ended up getting herself lost.

And then she met him.

Arnold, the sweetest person she had ever met. She remembered standing in the rain in the middle of a circle of trailers, none of them being the one she needed, and simply dropping to the ground in dismay.

"Hey, what's wrong? Do you need help?" a voice had asked.

Helga looked up into the bright green eyes of Arnold Shortman and instantly felt a connection.

"I-I'm lost. I'm supposed to be going to makeup, but I don't know where that is or where I am."

"Don't worry, you're not that far off. C'mon, I'll walk you there."

He offered her his hand, which she accepted, and he helped her off the pavement.

"It's pretty confusing around here the first few days, but you'll figure it out soon," he said while they walked, angling his umbrella to cover them both.

"So, what are you here filming?" he asked

"I'm in that new Nickelodeon show 'Hey Arnold'. You?"

"That's what I'm in! Oh, that reminds me, I didn't introduce myself did I? Sorry. I'm Arnold."

"I'm Helga."

"Really? So you're Helga; I've heard a lot about you. The director had nothing but good things to say about you."

"Well that's good to know. I haven't done much acting, so I have no idea what I'm doing."

"None of us do. They wanted all of the child actors to be somewhat inexperienced so it would seem more natural on camera."

"Oh, well at least I know I'm not the only one."

"Yeah, we're all in the same boat. Oh, that's the makeup trailer over there." Arnold pointed to a trailer with a piece of paper printed "Makeup" taped to it.

"The main entrance to the set is that way, just past the costume trailer. Do you think you can find your way back alright? I could wait for you if you want."

"Oh you don't have to do that. I'm sure I'll be fine," Helga said, meanwhile her brain said _'Yes! Stay! Please!'._

"Alright, then I guess I'll see you on set," Arnold said, smiling. He turned and walked back in the direction of the set.

"Okay, all actors on set! Places people!" the director called, snapping Helga from her flashback.

_'Oh well,'_ she thought as she made her way to her first scene position, _'It's better seeing real Arnold than daydreaming about him anyway.'_

Yes, it was true that they were just actors, but Helga had a big secret about the storyline: she loved Arnold for real.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm so happy you guys like the story so far! Only one chapter up and I already got seven reviews! Thanks so much everyone. I really do love reviews.**

Chapter 2

"Alright everyone, that's lunch! We'll pick this up on the last scene after lunch," the director called. Everyone broke up and headed to the lunch truck parked out front.

Helga got her sandwich and found an empty table.

"Mind if I join you?" Arnold asked, coming over with his own lunch.

"Go ahead," Helga said. She felt a little weird still wearing her ghost makeup, but she tried to ignore it. _'I hate feeling so self-conscious. I should try to be more like my character; __that_ _Helga is so confident in who she is.'_

"You were really good in there," Arnold said, breaking into Helga's thoughts.

"Really?"

"Yeah. You're so believable when you act, it's more like you're just being your natural self while the rest of us act."

"Thanks. Maybe it's because something like this episode actually happened to me."

"Really? What happened?"

"Well," Helga began, "It was...about two years ago I think. I used to hang out with these guys in my class sometimes, and this one time they were going to sneak into this old, abandoned joke shop that was supposedly haunted. They said I couldn't come because I was a girl, so I dressed up like a demon and hid in the shop. I set off a bunch of the jokes to scare them before finally jumping out. Man, they ran out of there so fast they left skid marks!" she laughed at the memory.

"That's hilarious!" Arnold said, joining in her laughter. "Did they ever find out it was you?"

"Oh yeah. The next day I showed up at school dressed up and they thought the demon had tracked them down for revenge. After I pulled off the mask they realized that they should have let me come along, and they even admitted that my prank was good."

"Well I'm glad everything worked out. That was wrong of them to try and exclude you." Arnold said.

"You sound like Hillwood Arnold. But yeah, it was pretty mean. But everything's fine now, so it's all good."

"Yeah."

There was a pause in conversation while both of them ate, trying to think of something to say.

Just when Arnold looked like he was about to say something the bell rang calling everyone back to filming.

Helga and Arnold threw out their trash and walked back to the large double doors. Just as they stepped into the studio Helga swore she felt Arnold's hand brush hers, which made her heart pound for the rest of filming.

§

_'Another day done, another episode filmed. I wonder what we'll have for our next script?' _Helga thought. She stuffed her sweatshirt into her bag and began walking to the parking lot to meet her mother. After filming episodes with her on-screen mother, who was neglectful and often pretty out of it, Helga was extra grateful for her real mother.

When she was seven Helga had told her mother she wanted to be an actress. Instead of passing it off as a childhood dream, Helga and her mom had had a long conversation about what being an actress would mean, and what Helga would have to give up. After lots of talking and thinking Helga had told her mom that she still really wanted to be an actress no matter what, so her mother packed them up and they moved to California. It was the first time since her parents' divorce that Helga had been really happy, and she could never thank her mother enough for everything.

Helga was about halfway to the parking lot when she tripped over an uneven patch of cement. She landed hard on her knees and immediately knew she was bleeding from at least one knee.

"Shoot! Ow! Oh man!" Helga dropped her bag and rolled to a sitting position.

"Helga!"

Arnold ran over, dropping to his knees beside her.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"I tripped on the cement and skinned my knee; nothing major," Helga said. She couldn't hold on to her calm demeanor for long, and soon the pain in her knee got to her, causing a few tears to roll down her cheek.

"C'mon, there's a first aid station nearby," Arnold said. He helped her up and picked up her bag. Together they walked to the small building a little ways down the walkway.

"Oh no, what happened?" the woman at the desk asked as they approached.

"Nothing big," Arnold assured her, "Just a skinned knee. We've got it."

"Alright dears. If you need anything just give a holler, okay?"

"Alright."

Arnold set Helga's bag on the floor and she sat in one of the plastic chairs.

"Alright, we have to disinfect it; is it going to sting a bit, Helga," Arnold warned. With one hand he shook the aerosol bottle of disinfectant, and with the other he took one of Helga's.

"I'll count to three, and when I spray it you can squeeze my hand as hard as you want, okay?" Helga nodded.

"Okay. 1, 2, 3!" Arnold gave her knee a quick spray and Helga squeezed his hand. It did hurt, but a part of her brain just kept saying _'I'm holding Arnold's hand! __I'm holding Arnold's hand__!'_

"Alright, all done," Arnold said, gently laying a band-aid over the scrape. It was just a plain tan band-aid, but on the center of it was a hand-drawn heart.

Helga looked at it, then looked at Arnold.

"I wanted to make it look a little better," he said, blushing a little and looking at the ground.

"I love it," Helga said. She got up and walked over to Arnold, pulling him into a hug. _'I can't believe I just did that!'_ she mentally celebrated.

Arnold hugged her back, and together they left the first-aid station and walked to the parking lot.

"You know you really don't have to carry my bag," Helga said.

"I know, but I don't mind."

"Alright, if you really want to."

Helga's mother's car came into view parked right out front like she always was. Helga was almost disappointed to see it, only because that meant she had to leave Arnold's company.

"Well, guess this is my stop," Helga joked. _'Stupid! It's a parking lot, not a train!' _she thought.

"Yep, guess so. Oh, here's your bag."

"Thanks. So...see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

"Great."

"Great."

"Arnold?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for helping me."

"Sure, anytime."

"Well, uh, bye."

"Bye."

Helga turned and practically ran to her car. _'Stupid!'_ she thought, closing the door quickly behind her. _'That could not have been a worse conversation! I sounded like an idiot!'_

"So, Helga, who's your friend?" her mother asked, pulling out of the parking lot.

"No one, Mom, just a castmate."

"If he's "just a castmate", then why is he watching the car like he wishes he was in it?"

Helga gasped a little and turned around, peeking over the back of the seat. Sure enough, there was Arnold watching her car drive away. He saw her in the window and waved, causing her to blush a little. She waved back before sliding down in her seat.

"So, what's his name?" her mother asked.

"Arnold" Helga whispered, drawing circles on the leather seat with her finger.

"What a nice name. Do you two have fun on set?"

"Yeah, we all have fun," Helga put a little extra emphasis on the all, trying to draw the conversation away from she and Arnold.

"He seems very nice. Maybe sometime you could invite him over! I'd love to meet him and his family."

Helga's eyes widened at the very idea. Invite Arnold over? _'Yeah, I can just picture that being a hot mess!'_ images of one humiliating scenario after another flashed through her mind's eye.

"_No!_" she practically yelled. It sounded very loud in the small car.

"Helga? What's wrong? I just suggested that—"

"I know, sorry, I was...spacing out. Um, yeah, maybe I'll do that."

Helga pulled a small pink book from her bag. It was identical to the ones they used in the show because when the director saw hers he decided they would make perfect poetry books for her character. Really Helga just kept them as journals, writing down her thoughts whenever things got confusing or exciting.

_Dear Journal,_

_Whew, what a day. Filming was fun, like always, but it's tiring. But it's mostly the emotional stuff that wears me out. Arnold ate lunch with me today, which isn't that strange since he eats with me a lot, but it was just the two of us, and that rarely happens. It kind of felt like we were on a date, even though I know that's probably never going to happen. And then I think he tried to hold my hand, and then he did hold my hand later, and—_

Helga's bag began playing the chorus of "Tangled Up In Me" by Skye Sweetnam, which was her favorite song currently. She put down her pen and pulled her cell phone out of her bag.

**Helga, I saw you with Arnold walking to the parking lot and he was CARRYING YOUR BAG! WHAT HAPPENED?**

Phoebe. Always excited for Helga over the smallest of things. Helga smiled and texted Phoebe back.

**Chill Pheebs, it wasn't anything TOO exciting. I tripped and scraped my knee, so Arnold helped me to the first-aid station and then carried my bag to the parking lot for me.**

**Sounds exciting to me! Did he ask you to hang out or ask for your number? Or hint at it?**

**No. I keep telling you, it's not gonna happen.**

**Yes it will! If you believe something hard enough it will come true!**

**If you say so. I hope you're right, even if I don't think you are.**

**I am ;)**

**We'll see :) ttyl?**

**ttyl.**

Helga closed her phone and put it back in her bag. Her mom pulled into their driveway and Helga hurried into the house. As fast as she could she darted to her room to finish her journal entry.

"Remember you've got homework to do!" her mother called. "If your tutor tells me you didn't do your homework again because you spent all your time writing in your journal I'll confiscate it until all of your work is caught up!"

"Yeah, I know!" Helga called back. She rolled her eyes; her mother threatened to take her journals all the time, but she'd never really do it, and both she and Helga knew it. Writing was the only way Helga could really express herself, and her mother would never take that.

She climbed into her half circle chair the hung from her ceiling by a long chain and opened her journal.

_'Now, where was I?'_

§

Later that night Helga lay in bed thinking. Tomorrow at the cast meeting they would get their new script and do a run through, and those were always the worst for Helga.

Every time she had to read her new monologues or poems for the first time it felt like she was confessing her love to Arnold in front of everyone else in the room. Like everyone knew she loved Arnold, even though she knew that was impossible. The only person she had told was Phoebe, and she would never tell anyone. That was one of Helga's favorite things about Phoebe; although she was much more outgoing than her character, she was just as trustworthy.

_'I wonder what Arnold's doing right now? Probably going to bed like I am. I can't believe I was brave enough to hug him today! And he hugged me back! Oh wow, wouldn't it be amazing if we got to be close enough friends the he would hug me goodbye every day? Who am I kidding, that's not going to happen. Oh well, as long as I can be near him that's enough.'_


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back! Sorry for not updating in so long, but the holidays are a busy time, am I right? This chapter is super cute (in my opinion anyway), and I hope you love it!**

Chapter 3

The next morning Helga sat at the breakfast table eating a bowl of cereal with one hand and reading a book with the other.

"Multi-tasking?" her mother joked, walking into the kitchen and pouring herself some coffee.

"I have to finish reading this before tomorrow so I'll be ready for my quiz."

"Well I'm glad to see you doing your homework, although I certainly hope that you reading during breakfast doesn't mean you spent all night writing instead of working."

"No, I did math and history last night."

"Alright, well finish up and get dressed; we have to leave early today so I can drop you off before my meeting."

"Okay!"

Helga cleared her place and ran up to her room. She got dressed quickly and grabbed her bag, tucking her book inside so she could finish her reading at the studio.

"Helga? Are you coming?" her mother called.

"Be right down!" Helga yelled back.

§

Helga got to the studio twenty minutes before she needed to be there, so she found a bench and pulled out her book.

A few minutes later she felt a presence next to her and looked up.

"Arnold! Hi! How long have you been here?"

"About five minutes," he chuckled, "I guess your book is pretty good if you didn't even notice someone had sat down next to you."

"Well, it's actually not that good, but I have to read it for school. I have a quiz tomorrow that I have to study for."

"Oh, well then I'll let you study," Arnold said, getting up.

"No! I mean, you don't have to go. I can study later anyway."

"Well alright. So, what do you think the new script will be like?"

"I don't know, but I'm a little nervous to find out."

"Really? Why?"

"I just don't like reading my lines for the first time in front of everyone. I don't know what to expect, and when I'm hit with something I wasn't expecting I get mixed up and nervous."

"Sometimes it helps to think that you're only talking to one person, not a room full of people. If you get mixed up just look at me or one of your other friends, okay?"

"Okay, thanks," Helga smiled.

Soon more people started arriving and they all filed into the large room.

Arnold took a seat next to Helga at the large round table and passed her a script from the stack the was going around.

**Arnold's Valentine** was printed in big letters at the top of the first page. _'Oh great, this is going to be humiliating!'_ Helga silently moaned.

"Okay, are we all ready to start?" the director asked. "Yesterday's filming was great; the episode it going through editing as we speak, and it's looking really good. I really appreciate all the hard work you all put into this. That's what makes the show so good. Now, let's start the read-through. Everyone please open to the first page; we'll read the whole script without stopping, just like always."

Everyone turned to the first page and started reading. Everything went fine until the very end; Helga and Arnold had a dialogue scene outside the restaurant that Helga was getting more and more nervous about reading with every passing line.

Finally, whether she was ready or not, it came.

"There's still one thing I don't understand," Arnold said, "Who are you?"

"I...I can't tell you," Helga read, face turning a light shade of pink.

"Why not?"

"I just can't, okay?"

"Okay, I guess. Will I ever see you again?" Helga took a deep breath; this was supposed to be a very private moment, but they had to do it in front of everyone. Even if it was just acting. Helga looked at Arnold and tried to pretend it was just the two of them, alone on the street in the moonlight.

"Oh, probably," she said.

"I just want to tell you this is the best Valentine's Day I've ever had."

"Me too. But now I have to go."

"Well, we'll always have Chez Paris," Arnold said. Helga read the stage direction printed below his line in the script: **[Arnold kisses Helga's hand]**. For a brief moment she wondered if he was really going to do it with all these people watching, but he just sat there waiting for her next line.

"A-au revoir, Arnold," she managed. After that all she had was a little scene where she talked to herself on the way home, which went fine.

"Alright, everyone, that was a great read-through. Go home and start practicing, okay?"

Everyone left and started walking separate ways, but Arnold found Helga in the crowd.

"Hey Helga!"

"Hi Arnold."

"I was wondering if you'd like to take a walk with me. Unless you have to go or something."

"No, actually my mom's going to be a bit late picking me up, so as long as we don't go too far it's fine."

"Really? Great!"

They walked around a little, not saying much. Soon they came to a fountain that people claimed was a wishing fountain, although Helga had her doubts. After tossing $1.50 worth of pennies in that fountain asking for the same wish every time she had little faith in its supposed "power".

"So, what do you think of the script?" Arnold asked.

"It's, um, it's great. I think it will be a good episode."

"Yeah. That, uh, that last scene is pretty big, huh?"

"Yeah." _'Kill me now!'_ Helga thought, getting more and more uncomfortable by the second.

"So, um, I noticed you look a little surprised by the, uh, stage direction towards the end."

"Oh, that? Um, yeah, I wasn't expecting that."

"Well, I want to tell you that...well that I was kind of surprised by it too. And...I understand if you're kind of nervous to do it in front of everyone...because I am."

"You are?"

"Yeah."

"I...I am too," Helga admitted.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I, uh...I had an idea for how to make it a little less scary when we have to do it...if you want to hear it..."

"S-sure. What is it?"

"Well, I was thinking that...that may in private sometime we could...we could try it. That way it would just be the two of us. But only if you want to."

"Yeah, um, that...that's a good idea."

By this point both of the kids were blushing pretty brightly, but they were sitting just a bit closer than they had been before.

"So...do you...want to, you know, try it? Now?" Arnold asked quietly.

"Now?" Helga squeaked. The thought of Arnold actually kissing her, even just on the hand, for real was a little scary.

"Sure. I mean, we are alone, which hardly ever happens."

"O-okay then. Should we...say our lines first?"

"If you want to."

"O-okay, um...who should start?" Helga asked.

"Um, you can," Arnold said, twisting the hem of his shirt awkwardly.

"Okay, uh...me too, but now I have to go."

"Well, we'll always have Chez Paris." Arnold took Helga's hand in his and gently gave it a quick kiss.

Instantly they both blushed and looked at anything but each other.

_'Wow! Arnold just kissed my hand! For real! Well, kind of. We were acting, but...but...you can't really act a kiss, and...oh wow!' _Helga was a little breathless, and her heart was beating a mile a minute.

"So, um...that was...good," Arnold said, shifting his eyes from a nearby tree to a crack in the ground.

"Yeah...good," Helga agreed.

"So..."

"So..."

Neither of them knew what to say, and it was getting painfully awkward.

"Well, I should probably go see if my mom is here," Helga said.

"Yeah, probably. Helga?" Arnold said as she stood.

"Yeah?"

Arnold stood up and walked over to her.

"It was really nice," he said, blushing brightly. Quickly, just like before, he lifted her hand and kissed it one more time.

Helga was speechless. _'Arnold just...and he...and we weren't acting, so...'_

"Um, bye. See you tomorrow!" Arnold said. He hurried off toward the parking lot to look for his own ride.

Helga let out a squeal of joy and twirled in a circle. '_I __**love **__being an actress!'_ she thought. She ran to the parking lot to see if her mother was there, arriving just in time to see a familiar football-shaped head in the back window of a red car leaving the lot.

Helga stood there watching the car leave. Suddenly Arnold turned around, just as she had the day before, and saw her. He waved and smiled, his face still a little pink from all of the blushing they had been doing. Helga waved back and watched the car disappear down the road.

§

"Okay, I have to get over this. It's just a little kiss on the hand, it's not like we're making out or something! But then again we're going to be in front of the whole crew and a bunch of the cast and..." Helga paced around her room with the script in her hand. She was trying to convince herself that everyone watching Arnold kiss her hand was not big deal, but she wasn't having much luck.

"If anything Arnold should be the one freaking out! He's the one who has to kiss me! But I'm the one he's kissing in front of everyone! Oh criminy, I'm talking myself in circles! I should just work on memorizing my lines and deal with my embarrassment when it comes."

Helga walked over to sit in her suspended chair and began memorizing her lines, lazily spinning.

About an hour later Sheena called, so Helga took a break to chat with her.

"So, what do you think of the new script?" Sheena asked.

"Well, to be honest I'm a little worried about the end."

"Oh, you mean the—"

"Yeah. I mean, everyone will be watching!"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Helga, just remember that it's just your characters, not you."

"Yeah, maybe you're right. Thanks Sheena."

"Anytime, Helga."

§

Filming day. Helga had mentally prepared herself all last night and all morning, and by the time her mom dropped her off she was ready. Well, maybe.

"Alright everyone, let's run the first scene! Places!" the director called.

Everything went fine until the last scene. They changed the set and everyone was in place, but Helga felt dizzy (and not in the good way like Arnold's kiss made her feel).

"There's still one thing I don't understand...who are you?"

"I...I can't tell you,"

"Why not?"

"I just can't, okay?"

"Ok, I guess. Will I ever see you again?"

"Oh probably."

"I just want to tell you this is the best Valentine's Day I've ever had."

"Me too. But now I have to go."

"Well, we'll always have Chez Paris."

Arnold gently took her hand and looked her in the eye, as though trying to comfort her through telepathy. Slowly he raised her hand...

Suddenly it was too much for Helga; the nerves, everyone watching, _the kiss_. It was all too much! Without so much as a word Helga turned and ran off the set.

Behind her she could hear the director calling cut and asking someone to go find her. _'Well that's not going to happen!'_ she thought.

Helga ran to a large tree that stood nearby and climbed up as fast as she could. She found a good branch that was well hidden and just sat there shaking. _'I can't believe I did this. This is so messed up! I'm supposed to be happy about Arnold kissing me! What am I going to do now? Everyone probably thinks I'm crazy.'_

"Helga? Are you okay?" Arnold asked from below.

_'Oh no. No. Please no. Do not let Arnold know I'm up here! This is horrible! He probably thinks I hate him!'_

"Helga? I know you're up there. Will you please talk to me?"

_'No.'_

Helga heard a rustle and looked down. Arnold was climbing the tree!

_'Oh great! He sure is persistent, isn't he?'_

"Helga?" Arnold said, reaching the same level of branches she was on and coming to sit next to her.

"Hi Arnold," Helga mumbled.

"Helga, what happened back there?"

"Arnold, I...I don't know. I just got so scared and...I guess I just freaked out."

"But why were you so scared? I mean, I know the...the scene is a little awkward, but it's not that bad...is it?"

"Arnold...this is more than just the scene, but I don't really want to talk about that. Pretty much it's just that...with all of those people watching I felt like we were on display or something. It was weird and I just couldn't handle it."

"Well the director said that he wants to film the scene again, but this time he's going to ask everyone who doesn't need to be in the room to stay outside while we film it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he thought it might make things easier for us."

"Oh."

"So, do you think you're ready to come back in now?"

"I guess...maybe."

They both climbed out of the tree and began walking back to the studio door. Helga stopped just before the door and turned to Arnold.

"Thanks, Arnold."

"No problem. I'll always be here for you."

Helga smiled and turned to open the door, but before her hand hit the knob Arnold tapped her shoulder, making her stop and turn back to him. Arnold stepped forward a little and pulled Helga into a hug.

"You can always come to me if you need me, okay? Always," he whispered.

"Thank you, Arnold," Helga whispered back. They ended their hug and together they walked back inside to film their scene, which went perfectly.

**A/N**

**I just wanted to put in that I know Arnold kissing Helga's hand might not seem like that big a deal, but when you add together Helga's fear of people learning her secret, her awkwardness around Arnold because she loves him, and the fact that they're nine/ten, I think Helga was perfectly justified. What do you think? Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome to chapter 4! I hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter 4

_'Thank goodness we're done with that Valentines day episode' _Helga thought to herself _'That was more than a little awkward!'_

Helga was on her way from rehearsal for their new episode, and she was trying to find something to do while she waited for her mother, who couldn't get out of work for another hour.

"Hey Helga, wait up!" Arnold called from behind her. Helga stopped walking and turned around to see Arnold running to catch up with her.

"Hey, Arnold, what's up?" she asked.

"I was wondering if...well, if you maybe wanted to go with me to a party?" he said nervously.

"A p-p-party? Um, what kind of party?"

"Well my mom's work is having a party, and they're having a separate party for kids. It's at the Conway Hotel. It starts at 6, but my mom said she can give you a ride."

"That sounds like a lot of fun! I'd love to go!" Helga smiled. _'A whole evening with Arnold! This can not get better!'_ Then Helga remembered something.

"I'll have to ask my mom, though. Here, I'll text her." Helga pulled out her cell phone and entered her mother's number. Technically she wasn't supposed to call or text her mother while she was at work unless it was _really_ important, but this _was __really _important. At least to Helga.

**Hey mom, sorry for texting you while you're at work. I know you said not to, but I have a really important question. Could I go with a friend to his mom's work party? There's a separate party just for kids and I really want to go, please?**

Helga sent the message, and she and Arnold stood in an uncomfortable silence while they waited for a response. Suddenly Helga's phone started playing her favorite song again. _'Note to self: change ringtone to something less embarrassing and less likely to blow my secret!'_

**Helga, when I said important you know this isn't what I meant. We'll talk about it when I pick you up, ok? Love you, sweetie!**

_'Dang it!'_ Helga thought. "My mom said we'll talk about it at home, so I won't know until then. Sorry."

"No problem. Here, let me give you my number and you can call me when you find out, okay?" Arnold said. He pulled a pen out of his bag and searched for some paper.

"I could have sworn I had paper in here!" he said, eventually giving up on finding anything.

"Well, you could...write in on my wrist or something..." Helga suggested.

"Okay, sure!" Arnold said. He gently held Helga's arm while he wrote his cell number on her arm. Helga blushed light pink at his touch.

"Alright, can you read that?" Arnold asked, capping his pen.

"Yeah, I think so. 038-1999?"

"Yep, that's it."

"Alright, then I'll call you once I find out what my mom says."

"Okay. So, in the meantime...do you want to go for a walk or something?"

"Sure. Where?"

"There's a public flower garden across the street; we could go there?"

"Sounds nice."

The two walked to the flower garden and spent a long time looking at all of the different flowers. Just before they left so Helga could meet her mother Arnold gave her a daisy, which she tucked in her hair.

§

"Okay, so what's this party you want to go to?" Helga's mother asked, sitting down at their kitchen table.

"It's a work party, but there's a separate party for kids with dancing and food and games and stuff, and it sounds like a lot of fun and I really want to go," Helga said all in one breath.

"And who did you say you're going with?" her mother asked.

"A-Arnold and his mom..." Helga said quietly.

"Oh that's that sweet little blond boy who helped you, right? I'd love to meet him and his mother!"

"Mom, can't you just let me walk out to the car like an adult?"

"Helga, I'm not about to let my nine year old daughter get in a car and go to a party with people I've never even met!"

"Wait, so you're saying I can go?" Helga held her breath.

"As long as you take your cell phone for emergencies, then yes, you can go."

"Thank you, mom! Thank you so much!" Helga cheered. She hugged her mother and ran up to her room. She grabbed her cell phone from her bag and dialed Arnold's number, which she had copied into her journal.

"Hello?" Arnold answered his phone.

"Um, hi, uh, Arnold. It's, uh, it's Helga," Helga stammered.

"Helga! Hi! What's up?"

"I was just calling to tell you my mom said I can go with you to that party."

"Really? That's great! So, we'll pick you up at 5:30?"

"That's perfect. Um, Arnold?"

"Yes, Helga?"

"Is this formal?"

"Um, let me ask my mom," there was a pause, "She says it's semi-formal."

"Okay, thanks."

"Sure. So, see you later?"

"Yep."

They hung up. _'Honestly, Helga, get a grip! You need to stop acting so weird around him or he's going to think you're a loon!' _Helga scolded herself. She pulled open her closet door and began the long task of choosing the perfect outfit.

§

An hour and a half later Helga had finally picked out an outfit. She wore a denim miniskirt and a pink top, and low pink heels. She left her hair down, but clipped back the left side with a small rhinestone hairclip, and her pink bow was tied on top. She didn't have earrings, but she did put on a silver shooting star necklace.

Helga looked in the mirror and sighed; her mother said she couldn't wear makeup until she was thirteen, with the exception of what she had to wear for filming, but for some reason Helga really wanted to wear some tonight. _'Maybe if I just put on a little she won't notice...' _she thought. It was worth a shot, right?

Helga pulled a small box from the back of her closet. Her mother didn't know it, but Helga kept a small box of cosmetics in her closet. Just in case.

She pulled out a plastic pallet, a small brush, and a pale pink lip gloss. _'Surely she'll let me just wear this, right?'_ Helga thought, walking over to her mirror. She swept a little shimmery pink eyeshadow on her lids and applied a little lip gloss. _'Not half bad!'_ Helga thought, mentally applauding her efforts.

"Helga? Could you come here for a moment?" her mother called from downstairs.

"Be right there!" Helga called back. Could Arnold be here already? She checked the time. No, it was only 5:00. What could her mother want? Helga threw the makeup she had used in her purse and put the rest of it back in her closet.

"What is it, mom?" Helga asked, walking into the living room and sitting on the couch next to her mother.

"I just wanted to talk to you. I didn't think we'd be talking about this until you were older, but considering tonight—"

"Mom, _please_ tell me we're not doing this!"

"We are, Helga, and you can't avoid it."

"I can if I go lock myself in my room until Arnold gets here!"

"Helga, just listen." Helga sighed and settled into her seat, avoiding her mother's eyes.

"You're getting older, and I understand that boys may mean something different to you now..."

_'Oh please no.'_

"...and that's perfectly fine. But I want you to understand that there are some things that just aren't okay for kids your age to do yet..."

_'Help me!'_

"It's fine to share hugs and hold hands, but other than that you should wait until you're older to do anything more. And considering you said there's going to be dancing I think I have to add that. Dancing is fine, as long as it's appropriate; and slow dancing is off. If a slow song comes on you can go get punch or something, but I don't think I want you slow dancing just yet. I know you've seen it on tv, but that's different. Acting is one thing, real life is something else..."

_'Kill. Me. Now.'_

"Helga? Are you listening?"

"Yes, I'm listening! You're saying act like a nine year old, not like a sixteen year old. Can I go now?"

"Almost. I trust you to be responsible, but I don't know Arnold. If he does anything you don't like, call me and I'll come get you. Use your good judgement, and don't get caught up in the excitement, okay? I know this is your first big party in Hollywood, but that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. If anything it means you have to be more careful, because you never know who could be watching. Remember that, okay Helga?"

"_Okay_, mom. Can I go now? _Please_?"

"Yes, you can go. Oh and Helga?" her mother said as she practically ran for the door.

"Yeah?" Helga asked tentatively.

"I'll let the makeup go for tonight, but only because it's a special occasion, okay?"

"Okay," Helga said before running back up to her room. _'Okay, that was __way__ more embarrassing than the kiss scene with Arnold. At least I __enjoyed__ that!'_ Helga thought, putting the last of her things in her purse and grabbing a sweater. She sat down on her window seat and watched the road for Arnold's car to arrive.


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow, sorry for the long time no update everyone! There's been some crazy stuff going on! Anyway, I'm uploading two chapters of this story tonight, so I hope that makes up for it a little ;) Enjoy!**

Chapter 5

Helga sat reading Romeo and Juliet, her favorite Shakespearean work, when she heard a car pull into the driveway. _'Arnold!'_

She shut her book and grabbed her things before hurrying downstairs.

When Arnold rang the doorbell Helga was right there to answer the door, although her mother was right behind her.

"Hi, Arnold," Helga said a little shyly.

"Hi, Helga. You look nice."

"Thanks, you too."

"Thanks."

Things would have got very awkward if not for Arnold's mother taking the lead of the conversation.

"Hi, I'm Stella, Arnold's mom," she said, extending a hand.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Miriam, Helga's mom," she responded, shaking Stella's hand.

"Really? So the tv show used your real name as well?" Stella asked.

"They sure did. Something about keeping it as real as possible."

"That's what they told me," Stella chuckled. Both moms talked for quite some time until Arnold pointed out that if they didn't leave soon they'd be late.

Helga waved goodbye to her mom as she walked to the car. She reached for the handle, but Arnold hurried ahead to open the door for her.

"Uh, th-thanks..." Helga smiled.

"No problem," Arnold smiled back. He walked around to his side of the car and climbed in.

§

"You two have fun, okay?" Stella called as the two kids made their way toward the entrance of the kids party.

"We will!" Arnold called over his shoulder. He and Helga stepped inside and were bathed in the multi-colored lights that spun throughout the room. The music was so loud Helga could feel it in her shoes, which she now realized were completely wrong for this party; there was no way she could dance in them! Everyone was either by the food table or dancing on the LED dancefloor, and Helga wasn't sure what to do.

"Helga?" Arnold asked, "Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine, just...I'm not sure I should have come. I'm not used to stuff like this."

"Don't worry, just stay with me. I promise I won't leave you," Arnold said. He gently took Helga's hand and led her to the glowing floor.

"Arnold, I'm not really much of a dancer," Helga said uncomfortably.

"Don't think about it, just dance," Arnold said. Still holding Helga's hand he began dancing, trying to get her to join him.

Helga swayed in place a little, but it felt awkward. Arnold smiled at her and took her other hand.

"C'mon, Helga. Just trust me," he said. Helga nodded and tried again, copying Arnold. Suddenly something in her clicked and she let go of her fear.

She and Arnold danced for a while, though whether it was minutes or hours Helga couldn't tell, when the song they were dancing to ended and a much slower song came on. Arnold smiled a little shyly at Helga and extended his hand.

"Helga...would you...like to dance?" he asked.

Helga's smile was a mile wide. _'So what if Mom said I can't slow dance. She's not here. And there is no way I'm turning down dancing with Arnold!'_

"I'd love to," Helga said, taking Arnold's hand. She rested her other hand on his shoulder, and her tentatively put his hand on her back. They were both blushing like mad, but neither one cared in the slightest.

The song ended and Arnold and Helga both released each other and stood a few steps apart, hand behind their backs.

"I, um, I think I'm gonna get some air," Helga said, nodding to the door. Before Arnold could respond Helga was already out the door. She didn't bother stopping at the coat check where she had left her purse and sweater, and instead stepped right out onto the street. She leaned against the side of the building and sighed, vaguely aware of the chill on her bare arms.

_'Arnold and I slow danced, and it was so magical! It was like we were the only ones in the whole world. I don't care if my mom somehow finds out and grounds me for a month, it would still be worth it for the memories. He had his hand practically on my __waist__! And the way he looked at me...oh my gosh. Nothing can make this night better!'_

"Helga? You okay?" Arnold asked, coming to stand next to her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Arnold. I was just thinking. You know, clear my head a little."

"Oh, okay, well I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Thanks. You don't have to stand out here with me, you know. You can go back to the party."

"I know, but I want to stay here. If that's okay."

"I have no objections," Helga said, grinning a little.

They stood in silence, watching the cars go by. Unconsciously Helga shivered.

"You're cold; here, take my jacket," Arnold said, draping his coat over Helga's shoulders.

"Arnold, you don't have to do that. Now you'll be cold!"

"I'll be fine. Hey Helga, can I tell you something?"

"You can tell me anything, Arnold."

"Okay, well...I...I..."

"There you kids are!" Stella said, coming out of the hotel carrying Helga's sweater and purse. "I went to meet you two so we could leave and you weren't anywhere in sight!"

"Sorry we made you worry, Mom. We were just out here talking," Arnold explained.

"That's alright, just please don't disappear again, okay?"

"Okay."

"Oh, and I got your things, Helga."

"Thank you," Helga said, taking her things from Stella. They walked back to where the car was parked and climbed in. Helga returned Arnold's jacket, but just as she rested her hand on the seat beside her Arnold's hand slid over, hooking his pinky finger with hers. Because of the style of the seats Stella couldn't see their hands, and Arnold shared a wink with Helga over their little secret.

"So, did you two have fun?" Stella asked.

"I had a great time," Arnold said, "What about you, Helga?"

Helga gave Arnold's finger a gentle squeeze with her own.

"I had a wonderful time."

§

They arrived at Helga's house shortly. Arnold walked Helga to the door, although both kids wished they could have just stayed outside the hotel all night.

"I really did have a great time tonight, Helga. I'm glad you came with me," Arnold said, holding her right hand in his left.

"I'm glad I came, too. I can't imagine anything more fun than tonight."

"I'm glad."

"Oh, what was it you wanted to tell me before?"

"Hm? Oh, um, don't worry about it. It was nothing," Arnold said. He leaned over and placed a quick, light kiss on Helga's cheek.

"Goodnight, Helga."

"Goodnight, Arnold," Helga said quietly, as though in a dream. Arnold waved as he walked down the porch steps to his car. Helga touched her cheek with one hand and waved with the other. _'Tonight was the best night of my life. Nothing can ruin this.'_

§

"What is this?!" Helga's mom asked the next morning. On the kitchen table sat a magazine with the words **"Young Love?"** printed in big letters above a picture of Arnold and Helga dancing at the party.

"I...we...I mean..." Helga didn't know what to say. She had spent hours last night reliving the highlights of her night, especially Arnold's goodnight kiss. But now, confronted with the magazine cover and her mother, all she could do was sit there.

"I thought the rules I set were fairly simple, yet you still went against them!"

"I'm sorry, Mom, I just...I guess I just got caught up in the excitement."

"Well I'm afraid sorry doesn't change much. You are grounded for two days. That means you come home directly after rehearsal, and no phone calls or tv for three days. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, why don't you go do your homework? You don't have to be back on the set until tomorrow."

"Alright."

Helga trudged up to her room. _'This stinks. I know I said I wouldn't care if I got grounded for a month, and two days is nothing compared to that, but it still stinks.'_

Just as she sat down at her desk her purse beeped. She hadn't unpacked it after last night, so her phone was still in it. Helga jumped up and answered her phone before her mom heard it, hiding in her closet to muffle her voice.

"Hello?" she said quietly.

"Hi Helga, it's Arnold. I hope I'm not calling at a bad time."

"No, but I'm not technically supposed to be on my phone. I got grounded."

"Oh no, for the magazine thing?"

"Yeah."

"Oh man, that's what I was calling for. I didn't know anyone was taking pictures, and I wanted to apologize for the unexpected publicity. I didn't think you'd get grounded for it, though!"

"It's okay, it's my fault. It's not even so much the picture. See, my mom kind of made a rule last night that..." Helga paused. _'I can't believe I have to say this.' _"That I wasn't supposed to slow dance."

"Oh. Well, why didn't you just tell me last night? I would have understood."

"Yeah, but...I wanted to dance with you."

"But it's not worth getting in trouble over, is it?"

"...I thought it was..." Helga said shyly.

"Oh. Um, I, uh, I did too. I mean..."

"I know what you mean," Helga giggled.

"So..."

"So..."

"I should probably go before I get in more trouble. See you on set tomorrow?"

"See you on set," Arnold agreed.

Helga ended the call and set both her text alert and ringer to silent, just in case. She stepped out of her closet, and was about to put her phone on it's charger when she got a text.

**I know you're not supposed to use your phone, but I just wanted to tell you that if anyone bugs you tomorrow on set about the picture don't worry about it. It will all blow over soon.**

Helga was about to respond when she got another text.

**Also, I thought you looked really pretty.**

Helga blushed and smiled. Arnold thought she was pretty!

**Thanks.**

Helga plugged her phone in and sat down at her desk to work, although all she ended up doing was doodling Arnold's name around hearts.


	6. Chapter 6

**Yay, another chapter done! I hope you love it, because this chapter gets pretty cute ;)**

Chapter 6

"Helga! Have you seen the headlines?"

"How could she not, it's everywhere! What I want to know is what happened?"

"Yeah, what happened?"

"Are you guys dating?"

Helga was swarmed by Sheena, Rhonda, Phoebe, and Nadine as soon as she arrived on set the next day, all with questions about her and Arnold.

"Guys, I don't really want to talk about it, okay? It's personal."

"So something did happen between you two?" Rhonda asked.

"I'm not saying anything did or didn't happen. I'm just saying I'm not going to talk about it," Helga said.

"But Helga—" Nadine started.

"Guys, if she doesn't want to talk about it then she doesn't have to," Sheena said.

"But—" Rhonda tried.

"Rhonda, just drop it," Phoebe said. Helga smiled gratefully at Phoebe and Sheena, and everyone made their way to the set.

"Okay," the director said once everyone got there, "So as you know we got a new script. Unfortunately we were unable to make it through the whole thing at our read through, but I assume you all read it on your own."

_'Dang it'_ Helga thought. She had been so busy with homework, and secretly texting Arnold, that she had completely forgotten to read the script.

"I don't expect you to be off book yet, so let's run just the audition scene with your scripts in hand."

_'Audition scene? What audition scene?'_ Helga ran to her bag and pulled out her script.

"Oh no," she breathed, staring at "Arnold's Valentine". She had the wrong script! Then she remembered; the day the new scripts had come out she had been excused so she could catch up on homework, so she never got the new script!

"Helga, is everything okay?" Arnold asked, coming to stand next to her.

"I never got my script! What am I going to do?" she whispered.

"Don't worry, I grabbed an extra. Here, take mine," Arnold said, handing her his extra.

"Arnold, I love you!" Helga said without thinking. The instant the words were out she clapped a hand over her mouth in shock._ 'I didn't...please tell me I didn't...but I did...I said...and now...'_

"Happy to help, Helga. You'd have done the same for me," Arnold chuckled.

_'Thank goodness he didn't think I meant it!'_ Helga sighed as she walked to her spot. Quickly she found the page they were on and found her lines, and that's when she realized what the episode was.

The cover said "School Play", and the play they were doing was Romeo and Juliet. Helga would recognize those lines anywhere! And she had a pretty good idea as to who would end up being Juliet.

'This can't be happening. This can't be happening! Do I really have to...in front of everyone...and have it be on tv?!' for once Helga was very aware of the fact that what happened in here would be shown on tv all over the country. The thought made her feel sick.

"And...action!"

_'Huh? Oh, right, practice. Um, my lines! Okay, here they are! O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet.. Wait, you have to say them out loud, Helga! Doi!'_ Helga took a deep breath and repeated her lines out loud in a shaky voice.

Somehow she made it through all of rehearsal, and luckily they didn't film _the scene_. Helga gathered her things and left.

"Helga, wait up!" Arnold called, running after her.

"Hi Arnold, what's up?"

"Well, I was wondering how things regarding the, uh, headlines were going?"

"Well, Rhonda and Nadine questioned me this morning, and I'm still grounded, but other than that nothing's really happened."

"That's good. So hey, I was wondering if you wanted to run lines later?"

"I'm grounded until tomorrow."

"Oh. Well then tomorrow after rehearsal then?"

"I'd love to. I'll ask my mom."

"Great, I'll ask mine."

"Great."

The two parted ways and went home.

§

"But Mom!" Helga exclaimed for the third time, following her mother around the kitchen while she made dinner.

"Helga, I just don't think I like the idea of you and that boy alone together."

"His name is Arnold, and we wouldn't be alone. His mom would be there."

"Helga, with what's just happened—"

"Don't blame Arnold for the party thing, he didn't know. I didn't tell him about your rule until after, and he apologized and said he wouldn't have asked me to dance if he had known!" ok, so maybe that last part wasn't completely true. It was close enough, right?

"Still..."

"Please?"

"...what's your episode again?"

Helga blushed; her mother would never agree to two nine year olds doing Romeo and Juliet!

"Um, it's called school play. See, the teacher, Mr. Simmons, wants to put on a play, but none of the boys want to be in it, so he asks Arnold to do it. I, well my character, decides she wants to be in it, and gets cast as fourth understudy for the lead."

"Hmm...well..."

"Please?"

"I guess. But you have to finish all of your homework tonight, or I'll keep you home tomorrow to finish it."

"Thank you! Thank you so much! I'll go do it right now!" Helga said, running up to her room. She spent the rest of the night working, and dreaming of going to Arnold's the next day.

§

The next morning Helga carefully picked out an outfit, finally deciding on her classic outfit from the show. She couldn't help it, she loved that outfit! Her mother checked over her work and deemed it satisfactory, and Helga arrived at the set feeling like she was flying.

They didn't film the scene that day either, which made Helga very happy. But the best part of her day came after rehearsal.

"Helga!" Arnold called, waving at her and trying to be seen through the crowd, "Over here!"

Helga smiled and waved back before nearly skipping over to Arnold.

"Hey," she said, coming to a stop beside him.

"Hey, ready to go?" he asked.

"Yep."

Together they walked to Arnold's car and climbed in the back. Helga could feel the butterflies in her stomach grow the closer they got to Arnold's house, but every time she looked at him he would smile and make her forget all her worries.

"Well, here we are," Stella said once they arrived. She opened the front door and they stepped inside.

"I've got some work to do in my office; you two can have the den all to yourselves. Remember, if you need anything I'm just down the hall."

"Okay, thanks Mom!" Arnold said. He led the way to the den, and he and Helga sat on the couch.

"So, where should we start? We've already done the beginning quite a bit, so do you want to start later in the episode?" Arnold asked.

"Um, sure. You mean like...the play?"

"Sure. We haven't done much of that anyway."

"Okay."

Everything was relatively simple until they came to the page Helga had worried about most: the kiss.

"What's here? a cup, closed in my true love's hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end: O churl! drunk all, and left no friendly drop to help me after? I will...I will...Arnold, I...I...can we take a break?"

"Sure, what's on your mind, Helga?"

"I was wondering...what happened the night of the party? You were acting like..."

"...like...like I liked you...as more than a friend?"

"Yeah. How'd you know that's what I was going to say?"

"I was wondering when you'd bring it up. I'm sorry Helga, I know I had no right to ask you to dance with me to that slow song, and I certainly had no right to...to, um...kiss you goodnight. I don't know what I was thinking, but I swear I'll never—"

"Arnold," Helga cut him off, "There's something I need to tell you..."

"What's that, Helga?"

"I...I...I really like you. I really really like you. I...I've actually like you for a while now, but I was too scared to tell you. But I'm not so scared now; your goodnight kiss did that."

"Really? So, you're not mad that I did that stuff?"

"Not at all, Arnold. That was the best night of my life."

"Even though you got in trouble?"

"It was worth it. Actually, I decided that it would have been worth being grounded a month if I got to dance with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So...what does this mean?"

"I don't know..."

"Helga?" Arnold asked. He shyly took her hand in his, making them both blush brightly.

"Yes, Arnold?"

"Will you...will you be my girlfriend?"

"Arnold, I...yes! Yes!" Helga smiled just as big as she had when they had danced together. Arnold smiled back just as big.

"So, we, um, we still need to finish our lines," he said slowly.

"Yeah. Arnold, I'm...I'm kind of nervous about the kiss."

"I am too."

"So...what do we do?"

"...what if I count to three first. Would that help?"

"Maybe. We can try."

"Okay. One," they slid closer to each other.

"Two," Arnold gave Helga's hand a small squeeze.

"Three," they leaned in and met in the middle for a quick kiss.

Helga saw fireworks; it was the most perfect thing that had ever happened to her!

They sat back and looked at each other, both blushing and smiling.

"Arnold...thank you," Helga whispered.

"You're welcome, Helga. I...I think I feel a little better about doing the one in the show now. Do you?"

"Yeah, I do. Although I think that's mostly you," Helga admitted.

"Well you're what makes it better for me, so we're even," Arnold smiled.

The rest of their practice when well, especially since they weren't so scared around each other now. It wasn't until she was getting her coat to go home that Helga found a problem with her perfect day.

"Arnold, I...I don't know how to say this, but my mom won't be happy about me being your girlfriend. She thinks I'm too young to be dancing with you for crying out loud! What are we going to do?"

"Don't worry, Helga. We can just keep it between us. No one needs to know, and then your mom won't find out. If you're okay with that, I mean."

"Arnold, you'd really keep everything a secret just for us?"

"Of course, Helga. It's not really anyone else's business anyway."

"Arnold, you're wonderful!"

"You're wonderful too, Helga."

Arnold and his mother drove Helga home and once inside her house Helga smiled and sighed._ 'Arnold likes me! He really really likes me! And he's even willing to keep secrets for me just so my mom won't freak out! This could not get better!'_

"Helga, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me mom. Do you need something?"

"No, but you do," her mother said, coming into the livingroom where Helga was. "The Goodmorning Show wants to have you as their guest tomorrow, so we need to go get you something new to wear."

"Me? All by myself?" Helga asked. She'd only done a few interviews before, and she always had someone there with her. But doing one all alone was different. Much different.

"I don't know who else will be there, or if it will be just you. I just know that you're going to be there. Which is why we need to get you something to wear."

_'An interview all by myself? Can I really do that?'_ Helga thought as she climbed into the car. _'If only Arnold could be there...'_


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, everyone! I feel like I never update anymore, and I'm sorry. I'm so busy right now it's crazy, which makes it ridiculously hard to find time to update. Anyway, I hope this chapter is plenty cute for you! What will happen during the interview? ;)**

Chapter 7

The morning of the interview Helga woke up feeling like she would rather sleep for five years._ 'Why can't these things be just a little later in the day?'_ she wondered sleepily. She got dressed and grabbed her bag before climbing into the car.

"Okay, Helga," her mother said while they waited for their breakfast at the Dunkin' Doughnuts Drive-through, "If they ask you anything about the picture of you and Arnold, which I suspect they will, just tell them that you two are just friends. Hopefully that will be enough. Other than that, just have fun."

"Okay," Helga said around a bite of bagel. _'But we're not just friends...'_ she thought.

§

Helga waited in the green room for everything to be ready, drawing patterns on the white couch with her finger. Her mother was already out in the studio audience, so she was alone.

Suddenly the door to the green room opened, and in walked Arnold.

"Arnold!" Helga said happily, jumping up from her seat and running over to him.

"Helga!" Arnold said just as happily, meeting her half way and hugging her.

"I'm so glad you're here! I thought I was going to have to do this interview alone!" Helga exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I'm here with you," Arnold said, releasing her only to take her hand in his. They walked over to the couch and sat there to wait for their call.

"Arnold Shortman and Helga Pataki?" a woman asked, coming into the room.

"That's us," Arnold confirmed.

"We're ready for you. Have fun!"

Arnold let go of Helga's hand and they walked onto the stage. The audience cheered for them and the lights shown down blindingly. Helga was thankful to have Arnold with her as they made their way to the red couch in the center of the stage.

"Welcome to the show Helga, Arnold," the interviewer, Marshall, said once they were seated. "So, wow, your show, Hey Arnold, has become a huge hit with kids and adults alike. What do you think of all the buzz surrounding the show?"

"It's really great," Arnold said, "I'm glad people are enjoying it."

"Yeah, we have a lot of fun filming, so it's great to know that people enjoy watching it just as much as we enjoy making it," Helga added.

"So, let me ask, we all saw your last big episode, "Arnold's Valentine", a few weeks ago, and you certainly got all the fan blogs in a spin with that cute little kiss, but I never thought things would get as big as that photo of you two at the Conway Hotel party. What happened?"

Both Arnold and Helga blushed a little and glanced at each other.

"Well, it really wasn't like how the picture looks," Arnold began.

"Yeah," Helga continued, "See, I really didn't know what I was doing, so I asked Arnold to show me some dance steps."

"Ah, I see. So what do you think about what everyone's saying about you two secretly dating?"

"We're just friends," Helga said quickly.

"Yeah," Arnold agreed, "Besides, we're only nine; we've got years before any of that's going to happen, I'm sure."

The interview continued pretty smoothly, and back in the green room afterwards Helga heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness that's done. I wasn't really sure how to answer most of his questions."

"I thought you did pretty great, Helga," Arnold said, sitting next to her.

"Thanks, Arnold. You did pretty great yourself."

"Thanks, Helga. So...I was wondering if after this you'd like to go hang out for a bit. You know, go to the movies or go sightseeing. We could go to the Hollywood sign or something..."

"That sounds great, Arnold, but there's no way our parents will just let us go off on our own."

"Sure they will. We both have cell phones, and as long as we stay in well populated areas I bet they'll say yes!"

§

"I can't believe they said _yes_!" Helga said, jumping for joy as they walked down the street.

"I told you they would!" Arnold laughed.

"But I didn't think they really would! Where should we go first?"

"How about over there? It looks like there's a fair going on."

"Arnold, there's a Ferris Wheel! I've always wanted to ride one!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" they both grabbed hands and ran to the entrance. They got cotton candy and rode the Carousel, and then Arnold found a game where the prizes were little stuffed teddy bears.

"Hey Helga, do you mind if I try this game?" he asked, nodding at the ring toss.

"Not at all. Good luck! I can never with at these things."

Arnold got a look in his eyes like he suddenly had a plan and stepped up to the counter.

"One, please." He tossed the rings at the pegs glued to the base and missed the first two. With one last chance to win he hooked the ring on the peg right in the center.

"Arnold, you did it!" Helga cheered.

Arnold smiled and accepted the bear from the man working the game.

"Here, Helga, for you," he said, handing her the bear.

"Arnold, I love it! Thank you! He's so cute!" Helga said, hugging the bear and then Arnold.

"I'm glad you like it," Arnold smiled.

They went on more rides and shared some french fries before deciding that now that the sun was starting to go down it was the perfect time to ride the Ferris Wheel.

"I can't believe we spent the whole day here!" Helga said while they waited in line.

"I know! But I wouldn't change a minute of it," Arnold said.

"Me neither," Helga agreed.

They boarded the Ferris Wheel and began slowly spinning around. At the top they could see for miles.

"Arnold, this is really amazing. Thank you so much for spending today with me," Helga said, sliding just a little closer to him.

"You're welcome, Helga. I had a wonderful time," Arnold said, placing his hand on hers. The ride stopped to begin letting people off, and Helga and Arnold were right at the top.

"...Arnold?"

"Yes Helga?"

"I...nevermind, forget I said anything." Arnold noticed the bright color of Helga's face and smiled. He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"Is that what you were going to ask for?" he guessed.

"Yeah...how'd you know?"

"Lucky guess."

They got off the ride, although they didn't really want to, and met their parents at the gate. Neither said it, but they both agreed it had been the best first date ever.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone! This chapter has quite the twist, so I hope you like it!**

Chapter 8

The next morning Helga sat on the couch reviewing her lines. They were filming the play today and she didn't want to mess up. Somewhere in the house Miriam was on the phone talking with who-knows-who.

"O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,  
And I'll no longer be a Capulet." Helga mumbled to herself, grinning. Suddenly she heard Miriam exclaim "What?!" at whoever she was on the phone with._ 'I wonder what's got mom so annoyed?'_ Helga thought, not looking up from her script. She hadn't planned on looking up, either, until her mom came into the room.

"Helga, is it true that your show is doing Romeo and Juliet for the play?" she asked. _'Criminy'_ Helga thought. This wasn't going to go over well.

"Um, yeah, I didn't tell you that?"

"No, you didn't!"

"Oh, hehe, oops. Sorry. I'll remember next time for sure."

"Helga, may I please look at your script?"

"Um, well..."_ 'Think fast, think fast, think fast!'_ "...I'm kind of in the middle of running my lines on last time before filming, and we're going to have to leave pretty soon, so maybe later?"

"Helga, give me the script right now." Helga sighed in defeat and handed over the script. She held her breath while her mother paged through the script slowly.

"What? They want you to—oh no, no way. What are those writers thinking?!" Miriam turned and walked to the phone.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Helga asked, hurrying after her.

"Calling the director. He can't honestly think any parent would be okay with their nine year old doing a kissing scene! He'll have to change it!"

"Mom, you can't do that! We have to film the last scene today; there's no time for anyone to learn new lines!"

"Then you can reschedule the filming. Film it tomorrow! Or the day after!"

"But mom, there's a deadline! We have to get the episode shot today so it can be edited and finished by the deadline! They've already advertised its air date! Everyone will be waiting to see it!"

"Then they can issue a public announcement. It's just not okay, Helga!"

"It's not okay for a girl to want to kiss her boyfriend?!"

The words were out. They hung in the air, seeming to echo throughout the kitchen. Miriam set the phone back on its base and looked at Helga.

"What did you say?"

"I...I..."

"Helga. You are nine years old. You are much too young to have a boyfriend, and you are much too young to be doing a kissing scene. I'm going to call the director; you go to your room."

"But—"

"Go."

Helga trudged up the stairs to her room, flopping face down on her bed once she got there. _'This sucks! How did this go so wrong? I messed up big time. And now she's going to make Arnold and I break up! I'm sorry, Arnold, I didn't mean to tell. Now we're...we're...we're just like Romeo and Juliet! Oh, irony is cold and cruel!'_

Helga rolled onto her back and picked up her phone.

**Hey, Arnold. I have some horrible news.**

**What is it, Helga?**

**My mom found out about us.**

**Us what?**

**You know, us.**

**Oh, us.**

**Yeah.**

**Did she take it alright?**

**No. She's calling the director right now to make him change the script for School Play so we don't have a kissing scene, and she's probably going to say I can never see you again!**

**Helga, calm down. Don't worry, we'll figure something out. Just like Romeo and Juliet.**

**Arnold, they ended up dead.**

**Besides that.**

Helga giggled and kissed her phone._ 'You can always make me feel better, Arnold.'_

"Helga? Can we talk for a minute?" her mother asked through the door.

**I've got to go, Arnold. My mom wants to talk to me. I'll talk to you later, okay?**

**Okay, good luck, Helga.**

Helga closed her phone and slid it under her pillow.

"It's open."

Miriam opened the door and stepped inside. She found Helga sitting on her bed looking out the window with her arms crossed.

"Helga," she said, sitting on the bed, "I know you're mad."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"But you're just not old enough for these kinds of things. You're still a kid, enjoy it while you can. It doesn't last forever, and I want you to be able to look back at your childhood and smile."

"Well right now I'm just going to remember my mom making me break up with my boyfriend."

"Helga, I know your character really—"

"Mom, this has nothing to do with the show! It's just me. Me! What I think, and what I feel! The show has nothing to do with this other than being the way we met!"

"Okay, Helga, I understand that. But how can you know that you feel this way? Or that Arnold feels the same?"

"Because I just do. The same way I know that my hair is blond and my eyes are blue I know that...I love Arnold."

"Helga..."

"_I do_. I love Arnold. I love him. I can't explain it, but I know that I do."

"But Helga, even if that's true how do you know how Arnold feels?"

"Because I do. I know that's not really a reason, but I just know."

"Okay. I can see that this is really important to you, so here's what I propose we do. You and I set up a time with Arnold and his mom where we can all talk. You and Arnold can talk about how you feel and what you think about things, and Stella and I can talk about what we think about things, and then we can all talk together. Does that sound fair?"

"Yeah, I guess. But what about filming later?"

"The director said he's going to see if the deadline can be extended to allow for a rewrite, but if not then the episode will go ahead as planned, and there's nothing I can do to change it."

"Okay."

Miriam left to go call Stella, and as soon as the door to her room closed Helga pulled her phone from under her pillow and texted Arnold.

**Hey, I finished talking to my mom. She's calling your mom.**

**Really? Why? What'd she say?**

**She said she thought we were too young to be dating, but I told her how I felt and she said that you, me, your mom, and my mom should all have a talk about everything.**

**Okay, well shouldn't be too bad.**

**But Arnold, what if they say we're too young and make us break up? Or worse, say we can't even be friends!**

**Helga, don't overreact. I'm sure everything will work out for the best.**

**I hope so.**

**Either way, I'll still think you're the prettiest girl I've ever met.**

**Thanks Arnold.**


End file.
